A tender moment for a polar bear mom and her yearling cub

by on 30 Oct 2025

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After watching this family group for over an hour, through much encouragement, the mother allowed her 22 month old cub to nurse. This is rare at this age as the cub is getting most of its nutrients from food they hunt. Though there may not be any massive nutrient gains for the cub, the act of nursing late into its cub-hood may tighten the family bond with its mother.

Camera: NIKON Z 8
Focal: 470 mm
Shutter speed: 0.0004 sec
Aperture: f/ 8

tagged: polar bear cub mom and bears family nursing suckling feeding feed fed baby young wild nature hudson bay canada manitoba churchill coastal willows intimate close bond bonding animal mammal wildlife polar_bear carnivores